First Proposed CMS Rule of Trump Administration

On Feb. 15, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its first proposed rule for 2018. The proposed rule is aimed at stabilizing the individual and small group health insurance markets as the Trump administration and Congressional leaders seek to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. This proposal would make changes to special enrollment periods, the annual open enrollment period, guaranteed availability, network adequacy rules, essential community providers, and actuarial value requirements; and announces upcoming changes to the qualified health plan certification timeline.The rule also proposes a variety of policy and operational changes to stabilize the Marketplace, including:

Special Enrollment Period Pre-Enrollment Verification: The rule proposes to expand pre-enrollment verification of eligibility to individuals who newly enroll through special enrollment periods in Marketplaces using the HealthCare.gov platform. This proposed change would help make sure that special enrollment periods are available to all who are eligible for them, but will require individuals to submit supporting documentation, a common practice in the employer health insurance market.

Guaranteed Availability: The rule proposes to allow an issuer to collect premiums for prior unpaid coverage, before enrolling a patient in the next year’s plan with the same issuer.

Determining the Level of Coverage: The rule proposes to make adjustments to the de minimis range used for determining the level of coverage by providing greater flexibility to issuers to provide patients with more coverage options.

Network Adequacy: CMS proposes to defer to the states’ reviews in states with the authority and means to assess issuer network adequacy. States are best positioned to ensure their residents have access to high quality care networks.

Qualified Health Plan (QHP) Certification Calendar: In the rule, CMS announces its intention to release a revised proposed timeline for the QHP certification and rate review process for plan year 2018. The revised timeline would provide issuers with additional time to implement proposed changes that are finalized prior to the 2018 coverage year. These changes will give issuers flexibility to incorporate benefit changes and maximize the number of coverage options available to patients.

Open Enrollment Period: The rule also proposes to shorten the upcoming annual open enrollment period for the individual market. For the 2018 coverage year, the rule proposes an open enrollment period of November 1, 2017, to December 15, 2017.

The proposed rule and how to officially comment on it can be found here. CMS is accepting comments until March 7.